We are less than 24 hours away from Nokia's Mobile World Congress 2012 press event and it appears one of the company's new Windows Phone devices has made its way online. A single image of an alleged Lumia 610 handset was posted to Twitter this weekend by an unofficial Nokia_N8 account. We are unable to confirm the authenticity of the image, but specifications for the rumored device appear to have leaked too.

BGR India claims the Lumia 610 will feature a 3.2-inch display, 3-megapixel camera, and will run Windows Phone Tango. The site says the handset will be priced at around $233 when it is launched in India. We have heard a number of details about Tango and its timing, including the fact that it will push the minimum hardware requirements down to just 256MB RAM. Some alleged screenshots of Windows Phone Tango leaked earlier this month, appearing to confirm the RAM limit and new 3-megapixel camera support. With the Lumia 610 passing certification in Indonesia recently, there is a good chance we'll learn more about Windows Phone Tango and Nokia's handset plans at Mobile World Congress, which kicks off tomorrow morning.

We have been hearing about Nokia’s low-end Lumia 610 Windows Phone smartphone for a long time now. It is nothing but an open secret that Nokia will announce this smartphone at its MWC press conference on Monday, February 27. Beyond that, very little is known about the phone. Until now. We have some key specifications and pricing details thanks to our trusted sources. Read on for all the dirt…

The Lumia 610 will be Nokia’s entry-level smartphone from where the Finnish handset vendor will create a portfolio of devices across price points. It will feature a 3.2-inch display and a 3 MP camera. Considering it will run Windows Phone Tango edition, we would expect it to feature a 256MB RAM, but our sources could not confirm that. The Lumia 610 will be priced around Rs 11,000 (Euro 175 approximately) when it is launched in India very soon.

Microsoft is releasing a beta version of Skype for Windows Phone today, with a full release due in April. Skype for Windows Phone beta allows users to make audio and video calls to Skype contacts over 3G, 4G, and WiFi. Skype users can also make calls to landlines and mobiles with the application. Microsoft has certified a number of devices for Skype Windows Phone, including the Nokia Lumia 710, Lumia 800, HTC TITAN, HTC Radar , Samsung Focus S, and Samsung Focus Flash, providing the "best performance" on these particular handsets.

The Skype Windows Phone beta builds on Microsoft's new user interface, utilizing the best parts of Metro style. Although the application is beta, Skype is promising to enhance it in future. "This is only the beginning for Skype for Windows Phone," said Skype's Rick Osterloh. "It's just going to get better and better."

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is on hand at MWC this week to help spread the company's message to business partners, carriers, and the press. Ever gregarious and approachable, Elop gave us a few minutes of his time today to discuss the first year of Nokia's transition, which got started with the announcement of a strategic alliance with Microsoft in February 2011. He was candid about the downsides of this fundamental change in strategy, noting the number of jobs Nokia has had to cut in an effort to streamline operations.

Today, Nokia remains very much in the middle of its transition, says Elop, but a lot has been accomplished in those short twelve months. His present assessment of the decision to move to Windows Phone is no less sanguine than it was a year ago:

"One year later, after making our big decisions about strategy, I am more confident than ever that we made the right decisions."

Nokia's impact on the development of the Windows Phone OS and ancillary services is only now starting to be felt and there's a lot more that the company will look to contribute to the effort. Moreover, with Microsoft building up an entire ecosystem around the Metro style UI — with Windows Phone, Windows 8, and Xbox Live — Elop believes there's great opportunity to expand Nokia's influence beyond the smartphone but isn't willing to announce anything quite yet. Needless to say, he's taking a long hard look at how Nokia can be a player in the tablet space.

On the topic of the great variety of phones introduced at MWC 2012, including those from Nokia itself, Elop had a terse and sage response: "but which ones will you remember?" Admittedly, a lack of differentiation is a criticism that can fairly be levied at Nokia's own Asha range, but Elop's statement was directed toward the 808 PureView, his company's spectacular new cameraphone. A lot of people have wondered why it's being introduced on the Symbian platform and his answer is that it's a disruptive (and memorable) technology that Nokia simply had to get out into the market.

Finally, when I asked him about Microsoft's " Smoked by Windows Phone" campaign, Elop grinned widely and opined that it's exactly the sort of aggressive and evocative promotion that the platform needs. It brings the sometimes esoteric spec sheet into the real world by comparing devices on the basis of a routine, daily task. He's a fan.

In just a few weeks, we're expecting Nokia to launch the first-ever LTE Windows Phone handset on AT&T's network with its Lumia 900. Nothing's set in stone, but we've seen March 18 fielded as one potential release date. With the phone's release creeping on up, Nokia's getting a few formalities out of the way, like seeing to it that the 900 gets its FCC certification. This afternoon the agency published the 900's documents, including a manual and an assortment of images.

As a smartphone destined for AT&T's new LTE network, it's no surprise that we see the Lumia 900's documentation attest to LTE operation on the 1700MHz and 700MHz bands, as used by the carrier; of course, there's also support for AT&T's 3G frequencies. More interesting is the note that the 900 is capable of HSPA+ on 1700MHz, in theory opening the door for operation on T-Mobile in the States.

With the 900's rumored release date starting to close-in, we'll hopefully soon get confirmation on the full launch details, including the potential for a very low on- contract price.

This gallery features the ZTE Orbit, the second Windows Phone device from the Chinese manufacturer. It uses the new lower specification requirements for Windows Phone (7x27 processor, 256MB RAM). While no price has beenn officially announced, it is likely to be one of the cheapest Windows Phone devices on the market. The demo device was an early prototype, which was reflected in its overall build quality.

These images were captured at Mobile World Congress 2012. The ZTE stand had just one Orbit on display, along side the ZTE Tania, the company's first Windows Phone device.

In a direct comparison with the Nokia 610 the ZTE Orbit should win on price. However, its overall design and build quality may count against it, especially when the additional functionality provided by Nokia's exclusive software applications is taken into account.

BGR exclusively reported this past January that the Nokia Lumia 900 will retail for a mind-blowing $99.99 with two-year agreement when it launches on AT&T. We also reported that the sleek smartphone was slated for a March 18th release, but we noted that the Lumia 900 hadn’t yet received technical acceptance so the launch date could slide. We have now been told by a trusted source that the launch has indeed been delayed, and AT&T is now aiming to make the Lumia 900 available online and in stores on April 22nd. The handset’s amazing price point remains unchanged, however, so Windows Phone fans can look forward to seeing Nokia’s flagship smartphone launch next month for less than $100.

According to the CEO, March 28 is the date to circle in your calendar if you are waiting for Nokia Windows Phones in China. There were no other details but given the recent rumors as well as documentation found on the Chinese Regulatory Authorities websites, the Lumia 800 as well as the Lumia 710 (in their GSM and CDMA variants) are possible candidates. As far as carriers are concerned, China Telecom and China Unicom are known Nokia partners.